How Bob Harper Went From a Farm in Tennessee to “The Biggest Loser”

“The Biggest Loser’s” Bob Harper is a longtime friend of Rachael’s and the show -- but even if you’re a loyal viewer, you may not know everything about him. As a matter of fact, we learned a lot, too!

For starters, he grew up on a farm in Tennessee -- and “hated it.” But he will admit that the farm experience gave him a very strong work ethic -- one that he’s brought with him throughout his storied career.

READ: Bob Harper On His Near-Fatal Heart Attack

And though a 7th grade test told him that he’d grow up to be a meter reader (“I didn’t even know what a meter reader was,” he says), we all know what his future ended up holding for him. And he claims to owe it all to one inspiring woman named Elaine.

Let’s start at the beginning.

When Bob moved to Nashville after graduating from high school, he lived next to a gym where he took an exceptionally difficult class.

“I can remember this like it was yesterday,” recalls Bob. “I went in, I took this girl’s class, it was the hardest thing I had done in my entire life.”

That girl was Elaine. And after ultimately befriending her, Bob scored a job at the studio.

“Elaine was instrumental in who I am today,” he admits. “She really made me think about the ‘personal’ in personal fitness.”

READ: Bob Harper On Finding His New Norm with Post-Heart Attack Diet

After gaining popularity as an instructor at Elaine’s studio, Bob moved to Los Angeles, or what he considered the “fitness capital of the world.”

He quickly became the most popular instructor in the only studio that accepted his application, and it was there where a very popular agent took Bob’s classes and ended up volunteering him for a job on a brand-new show … called “The Biggest Loser.”

“I had never been on television before, I did not know what to expect. They threw me into the deep end of the pool,” Bob says with a laugh.

And the rest, as they say, is history.